Aside from the small matter of announcing the new iPad today, Apple also took the opportunity to showcase a major upgrade to iMovie in order to best take advantage of the new iPad’s HD video capabilities. The newly updated version of iMovie will now let you turn the HD video on your iPhone or iPad into Hollywood-style trailers, even while you’re still recording! The new Theater view enables you to preview and choose from nine templates for your trailer from a range of genres, including Fairy Tale, Superhero and Romance. Your trailer will also now have the benefit of lush customizable graphics complete with soundtracks written by legendary composers such as Academy Award-winner Hans Zimmer and performed by the likes of the London Symphony Orchestra. You can also share your trailers via YouTube, Vimeo and Facebook, as well as stream them via AirPlay to Apple TV in high-definition resolutions up to 1080p.

Click here to download iMovie for $4.99: iMovie for iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch (4th generation), iPad 2 Wi-Fi, and iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G on the iTunes App Store

Source: Apple

During today’s new iPad launch, Apple also announced and demoed iPhoto for iPad and iPhone, plus major updates for iMovie and GarageBand, thus completing its iLife suite of apps for iOS. iPhoto includes breakthrough Multi-Touch features, which mean that you can use simple gestures to sort through hundreds of photos, as well as enhancing and retouching your images using fingertip brushes. The app is designed to take full advantage of the new iPad’s Retina display as well as that of the iPhone, and will give the user full control over colour, exposure and contrast, whereby you simply touch the parts of the image that you want to change. As well as posting photos to Facebook, Flickr and Twitter, you will also be able to beam photos between your iPhone and iPad, and stream photos and slideshows to your Apple TV with AirPlay, and use iCloud to publish photo journals on the web and share with your friends and family.

“With the introduction of iPhoto, we’ve brought the entire suite of iLife apps to iOS and users are going to love it,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Whether brushing an effect onto a photo, shooting a movie trailer or jamming with friends to record a song, iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand let you make amazing creations on iPad and iPhone.”

iPhoto is available to download now from the App Store for $4.99 (although it’s not actually there yet, hence no link, but it should be any minute now!).

Source: Apple

Source: live Apple event

Targeted mobile advertising company Jumptap today has posted figures that will make grim reading for all those phone companies out there such as Nokia or BlackBerry who are not Apple or Android phone makers, such as Samsung or HTC. According to Jumptap’s February MobileSTAT, Android and iOS together now make up 91% of the mobile OS market. Using data compiled from the Jumptap network of more than 95 million monthly users, both operating systems achieved new highs in January, with iOS climbing to a 32.2% market share, and Android reaching 58.8 percent market share.

“Both the Android and iOS operating systems continue to grow while the remaining competitors represent only a fraction of the market,” said Jumptap’s chief marketing officer, Paran Johar.

Jumptap notes that this data backs up a recent report from Nielsen that said that 89% of smartphones that were acquired in Q4 2011 were either iOS or Android, with only 6% being BlackBerry.

Source: Jumptap

MacRumors reports today on a story on Chronic Wire that says that iOS 5.1 has finally passed Apple’s quality assurance testing standards, and can now be released publicly. According to Chronic Wire, iOS 5.1 is now at gold master stage, with 9B176 said to be the final build, and the one that will be released to the public. It is thought that the QA phase occurred over the past three weeks, with both Apple and its carrier partners working to pinpoint and iron out any possible bugs in the software prior to releasing it to the public.

Also reporting on the story, 9to5 Mac says that it has been hearing “whispers” about expanded Siri integration, including more devices, and maybe even the Apple TV Remote app. They say that we may learn more about this tomorrow during the iPad launch, especially if Siri is going to be integrated into the new iPad.

Source: Testing on iOS 5.1 Golden Master Reportedly Complete Ahead of iPad 3 Launch - Mac Rumors
Report: iOS 5.1 Gold Master has passed QA, includes new features | 9to5Mac | Apple Intelligence

These days most folks are only focusing on the due date of the next generation iPad as it is breathing down our necks. Thus, the iPhone 5 has been forced into a shadowy corner, but rumors about its upcoming features are slowly starting to emerge and gain the interest of smartphone enthusiasts.

Most Apple lovers are expecting some top notch features to go along with the next gen iDevice, to make up for the disappointing, yet still massively successful launch of its older brother the iPhone 4S last year. The newest addition to the rumor basket is that the new device will be sporting Gorilla Glass. What’s that you ask? It is a protective window glass that can be found among mobile phones, PMP or some laptop displays. It also makes up 20% of the world’s total amount of handsets. The glass is fabricated from the New York glass and ceramics company, Corning.

Why is this glass so particularly special? The combination of pure sand and natural chemicals result in a specially thin but strong glass, which has also been virtually immune to scratches. The Gorilla Glass 2 has been advertised to be 20% stronger than the precedent model.

Corning, the company in charge of perfecting the glass released a statement saying:

"An 8 inch advanced multi-touch LCD display prototype featuring Corning Gorilla Glass 2 as a durable, touch-sensitive, and elegant cover glass will be soon seen on our mobiles."

Gorilla Glass became more known after Samsung and Google decided to implement it in their Galaxy Nexus, so maybe Apple wants a taste of the pie now as well. We will have to wait and see.

By Radu

Source: ibtimes

Destructoid reports today that Angry Birds Seasons will be getting another celebratory seasonal update sometime this week. This one looks set to be very pretty indeed, as it will be in celebration of Japan’s Hanami festival, which is when all the beautiful cherry blossom appears on the trees in Japan. It only lasts for a very few days, but when it appears, the Japanese people like to go out into the parks at night and have picnics under the cherry trees. It truly is a spectacular and wonderful sight, and as you can see from Rovio’s promo pic for the game, the pigs are celebrating the festival in traditional style, having a picnic under the trees and eating their sushi in a bento! It’s not long before the birds come along and try to spoil their fun though, and it seems that the beautiful cherry blossoms haven’t improved their mood any! According to Destructoid the update will have 15 new hanami-themed levels, all set against the glorious backdrop of Mount Fuji.

Source: New Angry Birds Seasons update blossoms this week -Destructoid

The Nike+ Fuel Band is an Activity Monitor bracelet which uses Nike+ with some extra features and a cool look. If you're a fitness junkie and like to track things like steps, calories, and time this is probably one of the most snazzy ways to do it. The device almost looks like a Livestrong band but is hard and has a button. By pressing the button you can scroll through the features on the band using the built in LEDs. My first thought when I started scrolling on this thing was "omg the future is here". The LED's are built in under the rubber material and shine through it to give it nice flush look when it's on and making it look like a regular rubber bracelet when it's not. One of the cool things about this is that it is water resistant. Bringing it into the showers with you or pool shouldn't cause any problems, unless of course you like diving in all the way to the bottom. It has a built in accelerometer to track your steps which convert into calories. You can also download the iOS app where you can set goals and much more. Achieving your goals gives you trophies and nice little animation. Personally, I love using this thing as just a watch and showing it off to people. The Fuel Band has a rechargeable battery which can last for 4-5 days without needing to be charged by the USB charger. Currently, they are sold out almost anywhere, but you can pre-order them at many places for $149.99. Though a bit pricy, I just have to say again, this thing looks like the future to me.


Nike+ FuelBand

China has been a problematic country for Apple. First they couldn’t get in. And now that they have, they can’t seem to get a grip on the connectivity issues. China Mobile announced a while back that the iPhone 4S was incompatible with the China Mobile SIM cards, but that’s about to be water under the bridge now. According to this latest report, the issues has been identified and fixed.

The problem lay with the iPhone 4S’s GSM chips which were built only to support P frequency bands (885-915MHZ) and not E frequency bands (880-890MHz). The P band is mostly used in an outdoor environment, while the E is intended for indoor areas. Chinese customers moving in a non P area could cause loss of connectivity.

Now all devices manufactured after the 8th of February are fit to be integrated in China’s Mobile network. But, how about those unfortunate customers who bought the iPhone 4S before the date mentioned about? Well for them, Apple will have to work on a Chinese iOS update in order to fix issues for them too.

The fact that Apple is working hand in hand with China Mobile is extremely encouraging, since the two don’t currently hold an official agreement. China Mobile is one of the world’s largest mobile operator holding more than 650 million active subscribers. Things could soon change and we might see a partnership between the two, which would be good for Apple and good for consumers in China.

By Radu

Source: Mashable

MacRumors reports that EA Mobile has had to pull its new Simpsons iOS game, Tapped Out, from the App Store temporarily simply because the free game was proving to be so popular that the massive demand on the servers basically meant that the game kept crashing or just wouldn’t work. Doh! Not to worry if you’re one of those who already downloaded the game before it was pulled, however, as it will still be playable for those who already have it. According to MacRumors, The Simpsons: Tapped Out is a mixture of The Sims and Tiny Tower in terms of gameplay, and features the same writers and voices from the TV series. In the game, the player must rebuild Springfield after it has been decimated by a nuclear explosion accidentally caused by Homer. Players earn donuts by undertaking quests, which they can then use to unlock more familiar characters from The Simpsons. If you want to speed up your progress, you can also buy more donuts as an in-app purchase. No wonder it proved popular, let’s hope that EA Mobile gets the game up and running again soon!

Keep checking EA Mobile’s Facebook page to find out when the game goes back up in the App Store: https://www.facebook.com/TheSimpsonsTappedOut

Source: EA Pulls Hugely Popular New Simpsons Game Over Server Capacity Issues - Mac Rumors

March 9 is a massive day in the world of console gaming, with the long-awaited Mass Effect 3 coming to all major consoles this Friday. To coincide with the console release of the game, EA has also released a companion iOS app today – Mass Effect Infiltrator. It was made by the same people who made the excellent Dead Space companion game app, and as with that app, it’s not just a Call Of Duty Elite-style way of keeping track of your multiplayer progress, it’s also a full-on, fully featured game set in the Mass Effect universe. In the game, the player takes on the role of Randall Ezno, a Cerberus agent who is disillusioned with the organization that he works for, and who eventually turns into the organisation’s sworn enemy. As you play through the iOS game, you will gather important Intel that will be shared with the Alliance to help sway the final confrontation in Mass Effect 3, via the Galaxy@War system. Just as with the Dead Space game, Mass Effect Infiltrator features groundbreaking graphics and a console-like gaming experience on your iOS device. Use intuitive tap controls for fast-paced fighting, and dive and roll for cover with a simple swipe as you engage in epic boss battles against Cerberus Mechs and twisted experiment victims. It looks absolutely fantastic, and it seems that EA really does have the right idea when it comes to integrating iOS and console gaming to enhance the experience on each platform.

Click here to download the app for £4.99/$6.99: MASS EFFECT

Source: EA Games

With the new iPad being launched tomorrow, if you’ve got Apple shares you might be glued to the stock market to see just how high they’re going to go, and if you’re looking for an app to help you do that, StockTouch could be the very thing. Named by Apple as the best iPad Finance app of 2011, and featuring on all demo iPads and iPhones in Apple Stores, StockTouch is a universal app, available for both iPad and iPhone. The app uses up-to-the minute market data to create 9,800 dynamic charts, all of which are available to access at your fingertips. The live information lets you view 1400 companies at any one time, supported by over 16,000 news stories. The app also enables you to see the top 900 stocks in the US market, and the top 900 global stocks, categorized across 9 industry sectors. You can customize the view according to price or volume, and sort the layout in a variety of ways, including market cap, winners, activity and alphabetical. The app also has a handy search function, with two different ways to find any publicly traded stock. It certainly seems to be a feature-packed financial app, as you can even use it to view results from as far back as five years ago, and up to as recently as five minutes ago. There’s also a "favourites" feature, that lets you keep track of your favourite stocks, automatically syncing between your iPad and iPhone via iCloud. Excellent stuff!

Click here to download the app for $4.99/£2.99: App Store - StockTouch

Source: StockTouch